1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the creation and sharing of customized Web sites, particularly in the field of sales. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of rapid prototyping of software demos and to the sales of goods and services (such as software, for example) over a computer network. The present invention also relates novel methods and systems for the execution of a sales cycle for such goods and services. In addition, the present invention relates to integrated methods and systems for training sales representatives and for conducting online sales calls.
2. Description of the Related Art
For most businesses, the cost of selling goods and services has a direct impact upon profitability. For large corporate entities employing hundreds or thousands of sales representatives, shortening the sales cycle (from initial contact with the potential customer to closing the deal) by even a single minute may directly translate into significant aggregate savings. Such savings may then be passed on to the customer or used to employ additional representatives to reach a broader segment of the market for such goods and services.
For enterprise software, such as application and database software for example, a conventional sales cycle may begin with an initial contact between the sales representative (hereafter “sales rep”) and the potential customer. This contact may be initiated either by the sales rep or by the potential customer. During the initial contact, the sales rep may establish whether there is mutual interest in pursuing the nascent relationship and may match the needs of the potential customer with a solution offered by the enterprise software vendor. This initial contact is frequently carried out over the telephone. If it is established that the vendor offers a solution that addresses the potential customer's needs, the sales rep may prepare initial sales materials, such as a brief slide presentation, press releases and/or a demonstration of the software of interest to the potential customer. As shown in step S1 of FIG. 1, the sales rep, at the beginning of a typical sales cycle, may travel to the potential customer's site or may initiate a sales call to the potential customer. If there is mutual interest, the sales rep may prepare and show initial sales materials to the potential customer, as shown at S2. At various stages of the sales cycle, the sales rep may gather additional materials from existing corporate Web sites and may then email these additional materials to the potential customer, as outlined in step S3. This in turn, may necessitate multiple callbacks to the potential customer, as shown at S4.
As suggested at S5, the costly and time consuming steps of creating customized sales materials are conventionally deferred until later in the sales cycle; that is, until the sales rep determines that the lead is solid and that the potential customer is likely to purchase the product in question. If, as shown at S6, the sales rep determines that the likelihood of purchase is high, he or she usually requests others within the vendor's organization (i.e. a technical pre-sales representative, for example) to research and prepare the customized materials, such as a customized demo. In addition to the customized demo, the sales rep and/or the technical pre-sales representative may gather relevant references of other, similarly situated customers that use the featured product, among other possibilities. These customized materials are labor-intensive and may take several days to prepare, as the sales rep must call on a team of programmers to customize the product offered for sale to the potential customer. As shown in step S7, once these customer references, customized prototypes and other customized materials are made available, the sales rep typically must schedule another in person or online meeting with the potential customer to showcase these materials. These customized materials may take the sales rep and/or the technical pre-sales representative one to five days to prepare before they may be presented to the potential customer. Therefore, the sales rep often tries to close the deal before the potential customer asks for such customized materials.
Such a fragmented and drawn out approach to selling is antithetical to the modern trend of reducing the cost and time to close a sales cycle. What are needed, therefore, are methods and systems that enable the sales cycle to close in a shorter period of time and that enable a flexible execution thereof. What are also needed are methods and systems that enable a rapid customization, prototyping and demonstration of software over a computer network such as the Internet.
Sales representatives must be trained not only to have complete knowledge of the products or services they sell to customers, but also on the actual mechanics of the selling process itself. Often, the manner in which products or services are sold vary depending upon the product or service being offered. It is costly for large corporations to train knowledgeable sales representatives, especially so when the training they receive and the skills they develop in selling one product or service is not readily or fully portable to the selling of other products or services. Conventionally, a sales representative may be given training regarding a number of factors that may be of interest to the customer, training on effective presentation and sales techniques, efficacious demonstrations and other sales tools and techniques. It is conventionally up to the sales representative, thereafter, to pick and choose which of these will be presented to the customer. What is needed, therefore, is a standardized sales methodology and standardized sales tools and methods for selling goods and services to existing and potential customers. What are also needed are methods for providing customized demos for presentation to the customer within a standardized sales call framework. What is also needed is an integrated training and online sales call system that enables the sales representative to utilize the same tools for training purposes as he or she will use during an actual sales call to an existing or potential customer.